Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1887-10-22

poILunlIy OF Ndtt acCumulaGlOQ, anu WIN
ought to quit. But, perhaps, for all the days
OF this generation the struggle Of small housee
to keep alive under the overshadowing pres
sure OF great houses will continue; therefore,
taking things as they are, you will be wise to
preserve your equilibrium, and your honesty,
and your faith, and throw over all the coun-
ferS and shelves and barrels, and hogsheads,
and cotton bales, and rice casks the measur-
ing line of divine right. And the Lord said
unto me, Amos, what seest thou AMI !
said, A plumb linen
In the same way we need to measure our
fheologies. All sorts of religions are putting
forth their pretensions. Some have spirit
ualistic religion and their chief work is with
ghosts, and others a religion of political econ
omy proposing to put an end to human mis-
cry by a new style of taxation, and there is
humanitarian religion that looks after tho
body of men and let's the soul look after itself,
and there is a legislative religion that pro-
poses to rectify all wrongs by enactment OF
better laws, and there is an aesthetic religion
that by rules of exquisite taste would lift the
heart out of its defornties, and religions OF
all sorts, religions by the peck, religions
by the square foot, and religions by
the ton-all of them devices of the devil that
would take the heart away from the only re-
liEion that will ever effect anything for the
human race, and that is the straight up and
down religion written in the book, which be-
gins with Genesis and ends with Revelation,
the religion of the skies, the old religion, the
God-given religion, the everlasting religion,
which says: Glove God above all and your
neighbor as yourself" All religions but this
one begin at the wrong end and in the wrong
place The Bible religion demands that
we first get right with Col. 1t be-
gins at the top and measures down, while
the other religions begin at the bottom and
try TO measure up. They stand at the foot
50, ,.rA Of
human theory and speculation, and have
plummet and a string tel fast to it. And
they throw the plummet this way and break
a lad there, and they throw plummet an
other way and brelk head there, and
then they throw it up, and it comes down
upon their own pate Foolsl Why will
You stand at the foot of the wall melsur-
ing up when you ought to stand at
the top measuring down: A few days ago
/ was in the country, thirsty after a
long walk. And l came in, and my
child was blowing soap bubbles, and
they rolled out of the cup, blue and gold.
and green, ana sparkling, and beautiful, and
orbicular, and in so small space never saw
more splendor concentrated. But she blew
once too often ami all the glory vanished into
suds. Then I turned and took a glass of
plain water and was refreshed. And so far
rs soul thirst is concerned, put against all
the glowing, glittering soap bubbles of
worldly reform and human speculation one
1raught from the fountain from under the
throne Of God, clear as crystal. Glory TO
God for the religion that drops from above,
not coming up from beneathl "And the Lord
aid unto me, Amos, what seest thou! and
aid, A plumb line"
j want you to notice this fact, that when
man gives up the straight up and down re-
hgion in the Bible for any new tangled relig
Ion, il is generally to suit his sins, You first
- al
hear of some swindle he has practiced in Col
orado mining stock, telling some one if he will
put in SIC, 600 he can take out Sl0J,009, or he
has sacrificed his chastity. or plunged into ir-
remediabie worldliness. His sins are so broad
he has TO broaden his religion, and he becomes
as broad as temptation, as broad as tho
souls darkness, as broad as hell. They
want religion that viii allow them to keep
their sins and then at death say to them:
well done, good and faithful servant" and
tells them: "All is well, for there is no HE'LL
What a glorious heaven they hold before usl
Come, let us 90 in and see it. There is Herod
and all the babes he massacred. There is
Charles Guiteau, and Jim Fisk, and Robes
pierre. the friend of the French guillotine,
and all the liars, thieves, house burners, gar
rioters, pickpocketS and libertines of all the
centuries. They have all got crowns, AMI
thrones, and harps, and scepters, and when
they chant they sing: Thanksgiving, and
A4AAAtA. anu EiD- anu power " but DTDdu IT,
ligion that let us all into heaven without re-
pentance and faith in those disgraceful dog
mas of ecclesiastical old fogyism."
Ny text gives me a grand opportunity of
saying a useful word to all young men who
are now forming habits for lifetime OF
what use to a stonemason or a brickayer is a
plumb lnes Why not build the wall by the
unaided eye and hand! Because they are in
sufficient, because if there be a DETECTION in
the wall it cannot further on be corrected.
Because by the law of gravitation' wall
must be straight in order to be symmetrical
and safe. A young man is in danger Of
getting defect in his wall of character that
may never be corrected. One of the best
friends ever had died of delirium tremens
at 60 years of age, though he had not since
81 years of age-before which he had been
issipafe1-tOuched intoxicating liquor until
that particular carousal that took him off.
Not feeling well in street on hot summer
day he stepped into drug store, just as you
and would have done, and asked for a dose
of something to make him feel better. And
there was alcohol in the dose, and
that one drop aroused the old appe-
lite, and he entered the first liquor store, and
stayed there until thoroughly under the
power of rum He entered his home raving
maniac, his wife and daughters fleeing from
his presence. until he was taken TO the city
hospital TO die The combustibe material Of
early habit had lain quiet nearly forty years,
and that one spark ignited the conhagation
Remember that the wall may lie one hundred
feet high, and yet a detection one foot
from the foundation affects the entire struct-
ure- And if you live 100 years, and do right
the last eighty years, You may, nevertheless,
do something at twenty years of age that will
damage all your earthly existence All you
who have built houses for yourselves or for
others, am l not right IN saying to these
young men, you cannot build a wall SO high
as to be independent of the character
of its foundations. A man before thirty years
Of age may commit enough sin to last him a
Lifetime A cat that has killed ons pigeon
cannot be cured. Keep it from killing the
first pigeon Now. John, or George, or
Charles, or William, or Alexander, or An
drew, or Henry, or whatever be your Chris
tian name or surname, say here and now:
.-NO wild oats for me, no cigars or cigarettes
for me. no wine or beer for me, no nasty
stories for me. no Sunday sprees for me. |
ana going to start right and keep on right.
God help me, for am very weak. From the
throne of eternal Righteousness let down TO
me the principles by which | can he guided
in building everything from foundation TO
capstoDe Lord God, by the wounded hand
of Christ, throw me plumb linem
Lord Nelson's general direction when going